
Kane Follows reacts after coming a close second in the backstroke heats. Photo: Getty Images
Follows, 27, was second in his heat on Wednesday in a time of 1min 58.63s, finishing 0.33se3c behind winner Se Bom-Lee , of Australia.
He needed to be in the top 16 from the heats to advance to the semi-finals, but his time placed him 21st, Team NZ said in a statement.
The fastest qualifier was Switzerland’s Roman Mityukov with 1min 56.62s.